I have a ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT (ZT-95TEH2P-FSL) which according to the manufacturer has a maximum temperature of 105°C, however my GPU reached temperatures significantly higher than that:

[image below]

The picture shows it was at 108°C but that was after I had the idea to open GPU-Z to check temperature, I believe it was higher than 110°, or maybe 115°C because the game frame rate dropped like a rock before that (and at 108°C it wasn't slow).

The GPU is still alive and well (and the fan is now working as it should).

I have a few questions:
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1.Can we really trust the temperatures reported by the GPU. If yes, how much?
2.What happens if the GPU exceeds its supposed maximum temperature? Is there a risk of the hardware to stop working or that's just its maximum temperature if properly cooled?

nah of course it could be that oil has somewhat loosen the stock parts of the fan.... but anyway, cooking oil is too thick. its very vulnerable in collecting dust..... there is a proper lubricating oil that can be bought on any hardware shops....

Reasons:
1.0.I was watching HDTV today and after some minutes my screen started flashing and the system stopped responding.
1.1.As it never happened before I decided to test my GPU with furmark and other GPU test programs both on Windows and Linux.
1.2.When my GPU hit above ~62°C in all tests, the system(OS) simply stopped responding (both Windows and Linux, with the difference I was able to move cursor on Linux, but nothing more).
1.3.The above never happened, so the conclusion is ~99.8% safe.

I bought this card for $175 almost exactly 5 years ago, and it was a great GPU till it reaches 110°C+.

Conclusion:
Always check if your fan is working properly and try to put an alarm to alert you about possible overheating. This thing is serious and can kill your card in a matter of seconds.

Too sad I had to learn the hard way. Now I will have to buy a GT610 for $60 in 2014.

Reasons:
1.0.I was watching HDTV today and after some minutes my screen started flashing and the system stopped responding.
1.1.As it never happened before I decided to test my GPU with furmark and other GPU test programs both on Windows and Linux.
1.2.When my GPU hit above ~62°C in all tests, the system(OS) simply stopped responding (both Windows and Linux, with the difference I was able to move cursor on Linux, but nothing more).
1.3.The above never happened, so the conclusion is ~99.8% safe.

I bought this card for $175 almost exactly 5 years ago, and it was a great GPU till it reaches 110°C+.

Conclusion:
Always check if your fan is working properly and try to put an alarm to alert you about possible overheating. This thing is serious and can kill your card in a matter of seconds.

Too sad I had to learn the hard way. Now I will have to buy a GT610 for $60 in 2014.

Thank you!

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well that is sad.... but a good gpu serve you well... in 5 years you have enjoyed your card.... I guess cards time has come...... its a lesson learned about checking, cleaning inside components once in while. Im sure your next gpu will be happy for your next treatment

IF your not trying to kill it re apply the paste take that crappy shoud of the cooler get some zip ties and a 80-120mm fan attached to it and if thats not enough see if you can fit a fan in between the cpu cooler and the back of the card just be careful..

My reference 4850 is a prime example, when i bought it, it artefact'd. I baked it and its been grand. Month ago fan died and it reached temp's very close to yours. So i strapped as many fans as i could fit to it and its been nice and cool ever since

Time to re-apply some cooking oil. The fan is making that typical (and annoying) noise when running at 75% or faster and running a bit slower than normal causing the temperature to reach 61ºC and increasing each day.

So, the cooking oil only lasted 1 month. Which is good enough for me...

My reference 4850 is a prime example, when i bought it, it artefact'd. I baked it and its been grand. Month ago fan died and it reached temp's very close to yours. So i strapped as many fans as i could fit to it and its been nice and cool ever since

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My ATi 9700 pro still works! Well I think lol . It's AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port for you teenagers) and the hardware with that port died long tie ago. so last time I used it, it was alive and kicking. If I had something to plug it into I'm sure it would whir to life.